Smoking articles, such as cigarettes, are conventionally sold in packages. Typically, each package contains about twenty cigarettes. One type of popular cigarette package is the so-called “hard pack,” “crush proof box,” or “hinged lid package.” Such a package has generally a cuboid-type shape, is manufactured from resilient paperboard, and includes outer wrap of transparent polypropylene film. Hinged lid cigarette packs are conventionally made from two paperboard blanks. One blank forms the body and lid of the package. The second blank forms an insert or inner frame which is assembled to the inside of the front of the package. The inner frame projects above the front and side walls of the package body and provides a seal between the lid and body when the package is closed.
Another type of popular cigarette package is the so-called “soft pack.” Soft packs are generally constructed of a paper materials less rigid than those used in hard packs and include an outer wrap of polypropylene film.
A common feature of both hard packs and soft packs is that access to several or all of the cigarettes in the package is provided through the top of the package. In the case of hard packs, a flip-top lid opens providing access to the cigarettes while in soft packs, a portion of the top of the package is torn away to provide access to the cigarettes. In these packaging arrangements, individual cigarettes must be selected, manually separated, and withdrawn from the package by a consumer's fingers. Typically, selecting a single cigarette for withdrawal and delivering the cigarette to the mouth of a consumer requires both hands of the consumer, which may be inconvenient in some situations. The pack may be impacted to cause one or a few cigarettes to extend from the top of the pack for grasping. In such circumstances, cigarettes adjacent to the one being removed may be ejected and lost from the package causing consumer aggravation. Moreover, some consumers may find it undesirable to handle cigarettes with unclean hands.